Consumer Liking and Value Perception of Mountain Cheese from Different Pasture Periods: Evidence for Mountain Systems Supporting Policies

Every year, mountain pastures show a progressive impoverishment of forage. The loss in grassland feed value restricts the production period of local Pecorino cheeses, which strongly depend on the vegetative cycle of the pasture linked to climatic conditions. The Monte Fietone mountain area (Macerata, Italy) has emblematic pasture flora during spring and early summer. This unique environment is normally used for rearing sheep, allowing regular production of local Pecorino cheeses from their milk, which is rich in vitamins and intrinsic floral aromas. Biologists and agronomists are giving increasing importance to these mountain food products. We conducted sensorial tests and experimental auctions to investigate recognition of the quality of this rare artisanal product. The results indicate considerable potential for economic differentiation. Accordingly, we recommend useful and applicable marketing and policy actions to support the sustainability of mountain grazing systems

EFFECTS OF THE ADDITION OF SUGARS ON THE THERMOSTABILITY OF BETANIN FROM Beta vulgaris L.

O impacto da adição de açúcares na estabilidade das betaninas de Beta vulgaris L. (beterraba) durante o tratamento térmico entre 50 e 80°C e pH 5 foi investigado. A degradação das betaninas pura e adicionada de 10% de sacarose e 40% de frutose seguiu modelo de cinética de primeira ordem e conforme aumento da temperatura, houve aumento dos valores da constante de degradação térmica (Kd), redução na meia-vida e nos valores do tempo de redução decimal (D). Termodinamicamente, apresentando valores de variação de entalpia (ΔH) mais altos (entre 99,66 e 99,41 kJ mol-1) que o extrato com a adição de sacarose (entre 85,27 e 85,03 kJ mol-1) e controle (entre 78,85 e 78,61 kJ mol-1), a incorporação de frutose foi mais promissora no aumento da estabilidade do extrato de betaninas. Os valores positivos para a variação da energia livre de Gibbs (ΔG) indicaram que a reação de degradação das betaninas foi não-espontânea e os baixos valores da variação de entropia (ΔS) para o extrato com frutose (entre 0,02 e 0,03 J mol-1K-1) indicaram que o estado do material estava próximo ao seu equilíbrio termodinâmic

Degradation behavior of Ti-Nb alloys: Corrosion behavior through 21 days of immersion and tribocorrosion behavior against alumina

Non-toxic and allergic free beta-type Ti alloys are attractive metallic implant materials due to their lower Young's modulus and good biocompatibility, but the corrosion and tribocorrosion behavior are yet to be fully understood. In this study, corrosion behavior of Ti-15Nb and Ti-40Nb alloys was investigated and compared with the commercial Ti-6Al-4V alloy through an immersion period of 21 days. The tribocorrosion behavior was investigated under open-circuit potential by using a ball-on-plate tribometer. Results suggested that the beta-type Ti-40Nb alloy having 51 GPa Young's modulus had lower corrosion and wear resistance as compared to the alpha + beta-type Ti-15Nb and Ti-6Al-4V alloys.This work is supported by FCTwith the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2019 and M-ERA-NET/0001/2015 (FAPESP proc. #2015/50.280-5), CNPq (307.279/2013-8) and FAPESP (2015/09.480-0). The authors would also like to acknowledge Prof. Graca Minas for the provision of the profilometry. I. Caha is grateful for financial support through PhD grant under NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000012 project

In vivo and in vitro permeability of one-step self-etch adhesives

Adhesive dentistry should effectively restore the peripheral seal of dentin after enamel removal. We hypothesize that non-rinsing, simplified, one-step self-etch adhesives are effective for minimizing dentin permeability after tooth preparation procedures. Crown preparations in vital human teeth were sealed with Adper Prompt, Xeno III, iBond, or One-Up Bond F. Epoxy resin replicas were produced from polyvinyl siloxane impressions for SEM examination. Dentin surfaces from extracted human teeth were bonded with these adhesives and connected to a fluid-transport model for permeability measurements and TEM examination. Dentinal fluid droplets were observed from adhesive surfaces in resin replicas of in vivo specimens. In vitro fluid conductance of dentin bonded with one-step self-etch adhesives was either similar to or greater than that of smear-layer-covered dentin. TEM revealed water trees within the adhesives that facilitate water movement across the polymerized, highly permeable adhesives. Both in vitro and in vivo results did not support the proposed hypothesis.published_or_final_versio